Tiny shelter housing project delayed as province lays groundwork, says official

The 200 emergency shelters the province announced in October as part of its plan to find temporary housing for people who are without a place to live still have not been shipped to Nova Scotia by Pallet, the U.S supplier.

The deputy minister of Community Services, Melissa MacKinnon, told a legislature committee Wednesday that's because the proper supports — including water and toilets — are not yet in place for the emergency sleeping cabins.

"It is a pilot [project], no province has, none of our colleagues have done this before so we are working through some really important issues," said MacKinnon.

Pallet, based in Washington state, calls itself a public benefit corporation with goals to improve society.

MacKinnon said the company requires certain "dignity standards" be met before it will deliver the shelters.

"It's a standard that the company, Pallet, has to ensure the safety and good quality of life [of] the people who live in those communities," MacKinnon told reporters after the meeting.

The structures, ranging in size from 6.5 square metres to 11.2 square metres, are heated and meant to be a temporary shelter for one or two people.

MacKinnon told the committee the province was still trying to line up service organizations willing to support the people who will live in the Pallet communities. The Houston government paid $7.5M for 200 shelters, with 100 of those earmarked for the Halifax Regional Municipality. The rest will go to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and other municipalities in need of them.

The province is still searching to find the most suitable locations for these shelters, although a ball field in Lower Sackville is most likely to get the first Pallet shelters.

"They are communities we want people to live in, and to be well supported and we want the communities where they end up, the surroundings communities to support them," said MacKinnon.

In a telephone interview from company headquarters in Everett, Wash., Pallet founder and CEO Amy King praised the Nova Scotia government for the speed at which it is moving to prepare to receive the structures.

"Actually the province is working really fast and we're really impressed and proud of the work that they're doing," said King. "They're doing everything we've asked them to do."

She said the province was moving ahead faster than some states did after purchasing Pallet shelters. The company requires five things to meet its dignity standards including:

• access to water and food. 
• flush toilets and showers.
• security lighting, fencing and controlled access. 
• transportation or nearby transit so residents can get to and from appointments.
• a service organization to oversee the site and provide services to those who live there.

"All those things are simple to do but can take time to set up," said King. "So when we talk about sites, we need to make sure they have infrastructure, all those things. "

'I hope they come tomorrow'

Three weeks ago the cabinet minister responsible for the department, Trevor Boudreau, said the shelters should be in place by mid-December. MacKinnon's testimony suggests that target won't be met.

In response to questions by reporters, MacKinnon said a water supply needs to be available, along with toilets and food on-site, as well as a service organization to provide support for those who will live in the Pallet communities.

The deputy minister admitted getting all that in place was taking longer than expected but she also noted this was a "new, innovative idea".

"We're working through [the issues] but we'll get there."

NDP Leader Claudia Chender, who sat in on the committee meeting, criticized the ongoing delay.

"I hear the point about there needs to be supports, but again, we have not planned sufficiently for the situation that we find ourselves in," Chender told reporters. "If we had, programs like the Pallets would have already been delivered, would have already been opened.

"So all I can say is I hope they come tomorrow and I'll hope every day after tomorrow that they come that day."